JIMOTO is a company in Japan whose products and concept is designed around returning to your home or a place you love. Their tote bag brand, JIMOTOTE, is now introducing Tama design bags centred on the Tama area of Tokyo on their official website and at shops around Tama on April 16. They will also be sold at a pop-up shop in as well as at Nonowa Kunitachi from April 16 to 18.

JIMOTO stands for jibun ni modoru tokoro, which is Japanese for that concept of returning to your local region – to your roots. The JIMOTOTE brand started in 2015 with bags design around Hokkaido before introducing Kyushu and Shonan. Tama comes as the fourth entry to the series and includes Kunitahci, Tachikawa, Kichijoji, Chofu, and Hachioji.

Miyako Hotel Hakata will have its grand opening on September 22, 2019. To help spread word of the luxurious secrets behind its doors, an official report was released detailing everything there is for guests to look forward to.

Its metropolitan exterior is inspired by the spectacular natural landscapes of Kyushu

Miyako Hotel Hakata can be found by taking the Tsukushi Exit of Hakata Station where it stands directly in front, towering above the surrounding buildings. The basement floor of the hotel is directly connected to the station for ease of access. This floor is also home to a convenience store, restaurants and more and can be used by non-guests too.

The building is a gorgeous eye-catching glass cube which offers an abundance of natural light during the day. At night, the hotel exterior is illuminated with 168 LED lights, giving it an metropolitan appearance. The building rooftop has a running ‘waterfall’ which is inspired by the majestic rural environments of Kyushu. Its iconic design makes it instantly-recognisable, with hopes in mind that this will make it a new landmark of Hakata.

The lobby houses a gorgeous cafe lounge serving food and drink

Up on the 3rd floor is the clean, bright and spacious front lobby where staff are waiting to greet guests warmly. In addition to the reception desk, there is CAFÉ EMPATHY, a cafe and lounge which can be used by both guests and non-guests. The cafe is produced by Transit General Offiice which is known for having produced the The Rail Kitchen Chikugo―a restaurant train―amongst a host of shared offices, hotels and more.

The spectacular menu line-up includes an array of delicious drinks from herbal teas to flavoured lattes, as well as an assortment of light meals made using ingredients from around Kyushu. They also serve an original afternoon tea that’s served from 14:30. Everything on the menu is nothing short of Instagrammable and perfect for those who love to wine and dine on drinks and food that is both cute and fancy.

The colourful flavoured lattes come in four flavours and can also be ordered for takeout. One of them is the Beets Latte which is a pink colour which comes from the beetroot used to make it. It has a subtle sweetness and smooth flavour.

The stocked teas include those made by Paris-based tea company KUSMI TEA, such as the Anastasia which is a mix of standard black tea and citrus, as well as an array of decaffeinated fruit teas.

Spend your time in luxury in your room

Floors 5 through 12 are all lined with guest rooms. There are four types of rooms, all large, including Twin and Double. Each and every room has been given the same level of care and attention to create the most comfortable experience for guests.

The Deluxe room is the perfect package if you’re looking to indulge in a little extravagance, whether as a treat to yourself or together with that special someone. The room design is stylish and simple, allowing for optimal relaxation. The bed is roomy and is ideal for watching the television or chatting.

All guest rooms are also equipped with tablets from which you can control the air con, lights and so on. The TV can even tell you whether the restaurant is full or not which is a super convenient feature.

A restaurant and bar menu created by a Michelin-starred chef & dreamy terrace pool

On floor 13―the top floor―you will find Miyako Hotel Hakata’s must-see feature: the SOMEWHERE RESTAURANT & BAR. This all-dining restaurant’s concept is “A Beautiful Place Somewhere.” Its dinner menu was conceived by Michihoro Haruta, the chef at Crony, a Michelin 1-starred restaurant in Nishi-Azabu, Tokyo. The innovative menu is made with local ingredients from Fukuoka and across Kyushu. The wine menu was created by Kazutaka Ozawa, a sommelier at Crony. The restaurant enjoys a laid-back atmosphere that isn’t overly formal or strict, with a glass exterior including the roof, allowing diners to enjoy the romantic evening atmosphere.

Breakfast is served to both guests and non-guests and is served as a western-style buffet packed full of assorted foods such as freshly-baked bread, omelette, Eggs Benedict, and more. They serve an original Japanese-style breakfast too for those who fancy Japanese food. The tall windows allow natural light to pour into the restaurant.

Right next to the restaurant is the hotel’s very own spa, offering a natural hot spring pool, jet bath, footbath and more. As part of the hotel’s grand opening, the spa is free for all guest until March 31, 2020. The hotel offers rental swimsuits too so you can freely and easily enjoy a nighttime dip. And when night truly sets in, you can gaze an unbroken view of Hakata from the roof, and the ‘waterfall’ next to the pool will also be lit up.

There’s even a special poolside menu so you can order cocktails and light food from the terrace. With everything illuminate in beautiful lighting, your cocktail in hand, you can certainly snap some Instagram-worthy shots. And if you’re looking for a warm bath, there is a large public bath and even a sauna indoors.

Shimocho is one of the districts of Hida Takayama and is overflowing with traditional culture that you absolutely must experience. To make the most of your trip, there is a summer yukata-wearing programme running from July 20th which is the perfect opportunity to wear cooling and refreshing Japanese clothes while strolling and exploring the streets. 

This year will be the 7th time the programme has been run. The Hida Takayama de Nippon no Natsu Yasumi programme allows visitors to dress in a comfortable and cooling yukata, stroll, explore, try different foods and enjoy the culture of the area. This year’s theme is “romance and yukatas” and gives visitors the opportunity to enjoy programme-limited desserts and the rich culture of the district.  

Discover Hidden Beauty with the Stroll Map

Visitors will be given a map packed with wonderful spots of the area. The map will also include the destinations of 31 shops where you can enjoy special experiences, meals and desserts that are limited to those who take part in the yukata programme. Recommended spots to visit are also drawn on the map in a very cute handwriting-like style, so you can stop by these places easily while enjoying your walk. There are even many places on the map that only a local would know about. 

Some of the special benefits of the programme allow you to enjoy the best regional cuisine that Hida has to offer, including the wonderful experience of restaurants that have been loved by the locals for generations, a beef delicacy restaurant, and much more. Besides food, the programme also gives you the opportunity to witness the beautiful festival floats used during the Takayama festival at the Takayama Matsuri Yatai Kaikan. You can also enjoy experiencing baking your own senbei crackers and gold panning.  

The programme includes a wide range of experiences for you to enjoy from local shops to food to culture to some new experiences. 

 An old-style café called Sabou Usagi is particularly popular with the locals. Here, the coffee is made using a vacuum coffee maker. With the summer programme, you can enjoy the delicious heart Tiramisù served here.

The stroll map includes a variety of locations such as the Takayama Tourist Information Centre, Hida Takayama Tourism Convention Association, Hida Takayama Travel Hotel Association and much more. The map also includes some of the accommodations available around Takayama, some important train stations and much more. You can easily download this map from the official website. (Japanese only )  

Stroll the Streets in an Elegant Yukata

Change into a traditional Yukata that matches the beautiful surrounding townscape. There are four shops Yukata rental shops available to pick up your favourite Yukata, so there is no need to worry if you did not come prepared. There are also some accommodations that allow for yukata rental. 

If you decide to join the Hida Takayama Nippon Natsu Yasumi programme, make sure to share your beautiful memories on Instagram with the hashtag #Hidasummer 

How about spending some time in the nature? Takaosan is one of the closest natural recreation areas in Tokyo, and it is only about 50 minutes away from Shinjuku station.

Takaosan is considered a sacred mountain, and has been a center of mountain worship for more than 1000 years. There are several temples and you will have the chance to view monks going through ascetic trainings at Biwa Waterfall.

Takaosan is 599m high and there are 6 different trails you can hike to the summit. It takes about 90 minutes to hike from the base of the mountain to the top. You are able to utilize cable cars and chair lifts that lead halfway up the mountain.

My friends and I decided to take the 6^th trail, which is considered to be one of the roughest trails because it has stepping stones and runs along the stream.

After hiking about 5 minutes, you’ll see several stone Buddhist images wearing a red hat called a Senshin Shichifukujin.

Then you’ll see Biwataki waterfall which requires you to take the left trail branch at the intersection.

After viewing the waterfall, you will enter a slippery narrow trail. It started snowing on the day we hiked so it was even more slippery. Make sure to wear shoes with good trends.

There is a resting place near Daisanbashi Bridge after the narrow trail. Here my friends and I ate some chocolate and granola bars and drank some water. It’s very important to keep yourselves hydrated.

After hiking for about 40 minutes the trail ascended the valley. Then there are stepping stones at intervals. It started snowing harder here and the view was beautiful.

After the stepping stones, the trail gets gentle until you reach the stairs. Many people took a rest in this area because there are more than 100 steps.

After the steps, you will reach a wide open road and after hiking for another 10 to 15 minutes you will get to the top!

At the top there is a mini soba and udon restaurant where you can rest and eat.

My friends and I were going to cancel our trip due to the snow, but we were actually glad we went because the view was spectacular. You can always climb the Takaosan on a sunny day, but you won’t have that many chances to see the snow covered Takaosan!

■Writer：Jessica Poluhowich

■SNS：@mintbaaby

The event that has a lot of lights everywhere called “Hiroshima Dreamination” is going to be held decorating with more than a hundred forty million light bulbs in Peace Boulevard and downtown in Hiroshima as the concept of “Fairyland.” This year there will be art objects of “Hiroshima Peace Memorial” and “Torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine” that both of these are the 20^th anniversaries of designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site at a green zone in Peace Boulevard. There also will be “open cafe” in this area to make everyone enjoy this.

This event is mainly held in Peace Boulevard, and each area has a different theme of lights. At C area named “Prayers of Hiroshima Peace Memorial,” a white and beautiful lights-up shaped like a Hiroshima Peace Memorial which has been twenty years since it was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage is expressing the hope for Hiroshima. At the east side of this area, there is a zone that you can write down the congratulation messages for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, the baseball team that has won the central league this year. D area called “Torii gate and The World Tree” has an art work designed in the motif of torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine which also has been twenty years since it was designated as a UNESCO. You can enjoy the collaborations of torii gate and the mysterious world tree which is a symbol of life.  There is a “sweet cafe” that sells hot drinks and sweets at L area. The huge cake and fruits, the chairs and table shaped like sweets are waiting for you.

Other than these, there are some art works such as a photo spot that you can pretend the be  “queen of ice,” the illumination of the beautiful night sky that you can look up when you go inside of the “Flower Tree,” the light-up that expresses the light for peace by holding hands called “Love and Peace.” “The world of ice” at E area is expressing the image of the ship and whale proceeding in this beautiful but severe world by helping each other. “Flower land” at G area is expressing the peaceful world that people, bug and dinosaurs are playing together after you wandered around in fairyland. Why don’t you visit the town in Hiroshima filled with light-ups?

■Information

Event Schedule：Thursday November 17^th 2016 to Tuesday January 3^rd 2017 (48 days)

Light-up Time Schedule：5:30PM to 10:30PM

Places：Green zone in Peace Boulevard, Left bank of Motoyasugawa River, Namiki Street, Kinza district, Central Street, Main Street, Naka-no-tana shopping street, Alice garden, Higashi-shintenchi Public square, public area in the left bank of Kyobashi-gawa river, Motomachi Credo, Kamiya-cho shareo, Hakushima q-garden

Call for inquiries：Hiroshima Light-up Executive Committee Office

☎ 082-247-6805　http://www.dreamination.com/index.html

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The theme park which is filled with lots of flowers called “Ashikaga Flower Park” is going to hold this event called “Flower Fantasy -the light of the flower garden-” from Saturday Oct 22nd to Sunday February 5th in 2017. This was acknowledged as one of three Kanto area illumination events. They put up more than three hundred and fifty million light bulbs to light up the trees in winter, and you can enjoy the beautiful light of the flowers everywhere in this park.

One of the programs called “The miracle of huge Wisteria” is showing purple lights to look like wisteria flowers blooming one after another. The way it flutters in the breeze looks like real wisteria flowers. There are other great programs such as “The light of Roses” which uses five hundred roses, “The light of Wisteria,” and “The light of Water lily” which is newly included in 2016. There are some fabulous time-limited programs such as “The fusion of the light and Amethyst sage” to mid-November, Christmas light-up called “Christmas Fantasy” from the end of November to the end of December, New year’s light-up called “The competitive performance of the light and Paeonia suffruticosa in winter” from new year to February 5th .

This park will be open till 9:00PM on weekdays, and 9:30PM on weekends and holidays during this event.  Please enjoy the colorful light-up after it gets dark.

■Information

Event Schedule：October 22 nd(Sat)to February 5th(Sun)in 2017

Place：Ashikaga Flower Park

Admission：Night time fee from 3:30PM to 9:00PM (9:30 on weekends) cost 800yen for adult, 400yen for kids.

*Day time fee from 9:00AM to 3:00PM cost 400~700yen for adult, 200~400yen for kids.

Access：It’s an 18 minute drive from Tohoku Expressway Sano-Fujioka interchange on route 50.

It’s a 30 minute drive on shuttle bus from Tobu Railway Ashikaga-city station.

Call for inquires：https://www.ashikaga.co.jp/flowerfantasy_special2016/jp/

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■Related article：Meguro River will be dyed in sakura coloured illuminations this winter for this year’s “Meguro River Minna no Illumination 2016″

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This will be the 27^th large-scale outdoor sculpture competition which is called “UBE Biennale (Japanese Contemporary Sculpture)” since it was started in 1961. They are going to exhibit these model works which were entered from all over the world. They choose forty out of all model works during the first screening on October 2^nd, and then selected eighteen works to be sculptured in actual size.

During October 3^rd to November 3^rd, all model works from all over the world are going to be exhibited in Kosui Hall (a Tokiwa museum annex) in Tokiwa Park, Ube city.

There are about three hundred model works which came from about thirty different countries and they are one-tenth the size of the outside sculptures.

During this exhibition, there will be many events where you can enjoy the art works more such as “Toccyao! Chokoku de Halloween” where you can get candy after taking a picture of you in your Halloween costume and certain sculptures that set as checkpoints on October 30^th. Some kids will be the tour guide for this exhibition in “Wakuwaku Kodomo Guide” on October 31^st. And you can appreciate of sculptures with curators in this museum in “One Point Talk of the Curator!” on November 3^rd.

Enjoy various art works which came from all over the world in this beautiful fall weather.

■Information

Access：15 minutes’ walk from JR Ube line, Tokiwa train station.

Or Use limited express bus about 30 minutes from the Sanyo bullet train, Yamaguchi station, and get off at the Tokiwa Park Entrance.

Event schedule：October 3^rd to November 3^rd

10:00AM~5:00PM

Some events charge money, and need reservations in advance.

Admission free：Parking ticket cost 200yen to 500yen for standard-size car.

Call for inquiries：UBE Biennale Office

☎0836-37-2888

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■Related article：The Exhibition across the borders, cultures and generations：Okayama Art Summit 2016

■Related article：Lecture meetings to talk about Nihon Shoki.

The modern art festival in Ibaraki prefecture called “KENPOKU ART 2016 North Ibaraki Prefecture Arts Festival ”will be held during Saturday September 17^th to Sunday November 20^th. They are going to exhibit the arts utilizing specialties for both ocean and mountains in these 6 cities in the north area of Ibaraki prefecture which will include Hitachi city, Takahagi city, Kita-Ibaraki city, Hitachi-ota city and Hitach-omiya city (Daikomachi.) The characteristic of this event is applying forefront artworks such as the arts in harmony with nature, media arts utilizing the science technology and the arts making use of biology.

As a special exhibition, the scientists group called “team Lab” which represents modern technology is going to hold an event called “ Team Lab thinking of transitory of these tiny flowers that bloomed unlimitedly.”in Tenshin Memorial Museum of Art in Goura which is famous with the artist, Okakura Tenshin, who contributed the development of Japanese art. Some digital works which based on the Japanese painting styles are going to be shown.

              Team Lab:The flowers bloomed in infinity inside of tiny things

This exhibition is going to show eight digital art works themed “Japanese style” created by TeamLab based on the spirit of the artist, Okakura Tenshin, who puts importance on both traditional and development of Japanese art. Two of these art works are brand new. The newest participatory art which was created for only this event called “The flowers bloomed in infinity inside of tiny things.”  is themed Japanese tea ceremony which Tenshin pursued the beauty through it.

This will be the first year of this art event. There are already rich art works. Enjoy arts and trips to Ibaraki in this beautiful fall season.

■Information

Event schedule：September 17^th Sat to November 20^th Sun in 2016

Place：Tenshin Memorial Museum of Art in Ibaraki prefecture

Access：15 minutes from interchange of Jorban Expressway or use taxi from JR Joban line, Otsu-kou station

Opening：from 9:00AM ~5:00PM

Admission：Individual appreciation tickets cost 1000yen (students and over 65years old cost 700yen).

Call for inquiries：North Ibaraki Prefecture Arts Festival Executive Committee Office

☎029-301-2727 kenpoku@pref.ibaraki.lg.jp

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On Saturday 19^th November, Miyashita Park in Shibuya will be the gathering point for a total of 20 different breweries from all over the country to show off their range of Japanese alcohols at Shibuya’s largest Japanese alcohol festival in history — 「SHIBUYA SAKE FESTIVAL 2016 AUTUMN」!

This event will be concentrated with a variety of alcohol from all over Japan that cannot be purchased in Tokyo, so drink to your heart’s content! The large variety of drinks includes a healthy stash of Umeshu (plum liqueur ), Kajitsushu (Fruit wine) and Shochu (spirits distilled through rice/potatoes etc.) , and more! This year’s event will bring more excitement and fun than last year!

Participants will receive a wristband and sampling cup upon reception, and will then be able to enter the alcohol brewery area of the park to drink to their heart’s content ー what a wonderful event!

Come join in the fun ー fill up on tasty drinks and create memories to last forever!

■Information

SHIBUYA SAKE FESTIVAL 2016 AUTUMN

Date：Saturday 19^th November 2016

Time：11:00 〜 17:00（reception desk opens: 10:30, closes: 16:30）

Website： http://kurand.jp/event/shibuya-sake-festival-2016-autumn/

Even though you are in Tokyo which is known as one of the big cities in the world, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of nature everywhere in West Tama area and the Tokyo ilands.

　　　　　　　　〈Beautiful fall weather in Mihara-yama〉

Post the pictures on Twitter when you visit great spots that you want to recommend to many people. If your pictures are chosen as the best shot, it will be shown on the cite called TAMASHIMA best shot stamp rally. (Procesure of how you post the pictures on stamp rally is following.) Let’s share the great scenery with a lot of people.

■Information

Event schedule：September 22th 2016 to February 28^th 2017

Subject areas：Nishi-Tama area in Tokyo and Tokyo ilands

(Oume city, Fussa city, Hamura city, Akiruno city, Hinode-cho Yarihara village, Oku-tama machi, Oshima, Toshima, Niijima, Shikine-jima, Kozushima, Miyake-jima, Miikura-jima, Hachijo-shima, Aogashima, Chchi-jima, Haha-jima. )

How you post the pictures on “TAMASHIMA Best Shot Stamp Rally”

1. Follow the acount ＠tokyo_reporter（外部サイトへリンク） on Twitter.
2. Visit any above-mentioned islands, and take some pictures of the spot that you want to recommend to people.
3. Post the pictures on Twitter with hash tags: #name of the place where you took pictures and #TAMASHIMA Best Shot Stamp Rally.
4. If your pictures are chosen as the best shot of each islands, it will appear on this following website to complete the stamp rally. https://tokyoreporter.jp/stamp/

This webcite is going to be updated three times (beginning of October, middle of December in 2016, and middle of March in 2017 ) druring this event.

If you want to check more details, use this following website. https://tokyoreporter.jp/stamp/

Call for inquiries：tokyo reporter Shima-tabi＆Yama-tabi Office（Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau）

☎03-5579-2682

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Lecture meetings to talk about Nihon Shoki (The Chronicle of Japan) in Nara prefecture. It will be the 1300-year anniversary of Japans oldest book of history.

In 2020, it will be 1300 years since the oldest Japanese history book called “Nihon Shoki (The Chronicle of Japan)”was completed. Nara prefecture is planning a project utilizing historical books which are proven to be important tools for historians include Kojiki, Nihon Shoki, and Manyoshu.  They will sponsor serial lecture meetings themed Nihon Shoki from November 2016 to March 2017.

There are going to be lecture meetings in ten different areas in Nara prefecture starting from Sango-cho, Kashiba city, Kashihara city, Ouji town, Gose city, Kawai-cho, Asuka-mura, Nara city, Takatori-cho, to Tawaramoto-cho. Ten different lecturers such as college professors and comic writers are going to talk about their specialized field of Nihon Shoki. Some places are also holding excursion tours with volunteer guides where you can visit some places associated with these historical books.

This is a good chance to get to know about the Chronicle of Japan more deeply through these meetings in Nara prefecture where this book was accomplished.

■Information

Event schedules, places, subject of lecture meetings and lectures

Opening at 12:00AM

Starting at 1:00PM

Ends about at 2:40PM

Excursion tours are going to start in the morning before the lectures.

1. Sat November 5^th

Cultural center in Sango, Cultural hall

“Prince Shotoku and Japanese” by Minoru Senda (Director of Public library in Nara)

No excursion tour

2. Sat November 26^th

Kashiba city, Takafumi Cultural center in Kashiba city, civic hall

“After the generation of Katshuragi clan (The history of hilly area in Umami)”by Shinji Yoshikawa (the professor of Kyoto University)

Kashiba city excursion tour “going the place where Sumo has started and inherited”

3. Sat December 3^rd

Kashihara city, Nara Prefecture Integrated Social Welfare Center, Big hall

“The textbook of “The Chronicle of Japan” and “The History of Japan”” by Shunichiro Kanaya (Pundit and CEO of Nippon Culture Promote Organization)

Kashihara city excursion tour “Learn about old capital of Japan from the great mountain of Unebi”

4. Sat December 27^th

Ouji Town Local Exchange Center, Liebell Hall

“Things that the chronicle talk about Yamato sovereignty and Kawachi” by Takehiko Yoshimura (the professor of Meiji University)

Ouji town excursion tour “Going ruins in Yamato River and Ouji”

5. Sat January 14^th, 2017

Gose city, Gose Cultural Center

“Interaction of People and Mountain in Katsuragi” by Hajime Baba (the principal investigator of Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Property)

No excursion tour

6. Sat January 28^th

Kawai-cho Central Community Center, meeting room

“Establishment of Uniforms and Court Rank Systems” by Sachiko Takeda (The professor of Outemon University)

Excursion tour “Visit to Hirose Shrine where Tenmu emperor associated with”

7. Sat February 4^th

Asuka-mura, Nara Prefecture Complex of Manyo Culture, exhibition room

“The hidden truth of Isshi incident” by Masahiro Sonomura (Pundit, the storywriter of comic called天智と天武)

Excursion tour “The life of Emperor Tenmu”

8. Sun February 19^th

Nara city, NaraMachi Center, civic hall

“Interpret Nihon Shoki with Pottery” by Yuki Oda (Researcher of Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties)

Nara city excursion tour “Visit the place where Emperor Jintoku associated with”

9. Sun February 26^th

Takatori-cho, Takatori-cho Liberte Hall, Big hall

“Nihon shoki and Yama-taikoku” by Fuminori Sugaya (The manager of Archaeological Institute of Kashihara)

Takatori-cho excursion tour “tour for the ancient history of Takatori-cho”

10. Sun March 5^th

Tawaramoto Aogaki Lifelong Learning Center

“Messages from Nihon Shoki” by Makoto Ueno (The professor of Nara University)

No excursion tour

Call for inquiries：Lectures secretariat meetings to talk about chronicle of Japan

☎︎03-5226-8537 Weekdays 10:00AM to 5:00PM

Entry from this following website

http://www.sap-co.jp/nihonshoki.html

Experience a variety of Akita’s traditional culture all in one place

Akita prefecture has 17 different kinds of nationally designated, intangible, folk cultural properties which is the largest number throughout Japan. The big event that gathers festivals, traditional cultures and other folk events is coming up this fall. It’s named “Traditional Cultures Festival: Shin Akita no Gyoji in Odate 2016.” It is a new type of event where you will be able to experience Akita’s traditional culture in Odate Jukai Dome, Odate city.

There is a main stage inside the dome which holds more than 2000 seats where you can see the strong and powerful performances. There are also booths near the stage where you will be able to see other performances. The program consists of “Akita no Kanto” from Akita city, “Kemanai no Bonodori” from Kazuno city, “Honkai-Shishimai-Bangaku” from Yurihonjo city, “Tsuzureko no Odaiko” from Kita-Akita city, “Odate-Shinmeisha-Reisha no Hikiyama Gyoji” from Odate city, “Sannai-Bangaku” from Gojome-machi, and “Namahage Daiko” from Oga city. You will also be able to participate in some experience such as holding “Kanto” which is a bamboo pole bearing many lanterns and dressing up as “Namahage” which is a Japanese folklore demon-like being. The traditional craft of making containers such as lunch boxes by bending wood called “Odate Magewappa” from Odate city will be exhibited as well.

At the same time, there will be a food festival for many different kinds of meat dishes from this area called “Niku Haku ~Niku no Hakurankai in Odate 2016.” Outside of the Odate-Jukai Dome, booths which sell Hinaijidori, one of the most popular chicken brands in Japan, Odate-Sakura pork, Akita beef, and horse meat will be lined up. Other than these, there will be a lot of booths that advertise sightseeing spots, foods, sake, hot springs, and special products from this area. These events in Odate where people can enjoy watching and experiencing many different traditional events from Akita will attract a great deal of public attention.

▪️information

Event Schedule : October 29^th Sat 12:00~7:00PM

                               October 30^th Sun 10:00AM~6:00PM

Place : Odate-Jukai Dome

Access : A free shuttle bus will be running from JR Ou Main Line, Odate station to the Dome.

It takes about 2 hours to go from Akita station to Odate station on the JR Ou Main Line.

Admission Free

Call for inquires : Shin Akita no Gyoji Executive Committee Office (018-860-1530)

http://shinakitanogyouji.jp/

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